GEORGETOWN, DE - A hazardous materials incident at the Georgetown Perdue Harvest Plant, that has since been resolved, forced neighbors to shelter in place for multiple hours on Wednesday evening. WBOC spoke with neighbors in the area who said the incident caused them some concern.
Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) officials told WBOC that the incident began at around 3:42 pm Wednesday when volunteers with the Georgetown Fire Company responded to a hazardous materials incident.
Perdue officials told WBOC that a contract worker accidentally mixed together chemicals from two tanks, peracetic acid and sodium hydroxide, causing a plume of 'potentially toxic' chemicals. According to DNREC officials, the plume quickly dissipated.
According the DEMA officials, Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) had their State Emergency Response team then respond to the incident as a reported 'acid vapor release'. It was then classified as a Level I incident, according to state officials.
Multiple crews were on scene at the incident last night. Delaware State Police Spokesperson Lewis Briggs said four plant workers exposed to the chemicals were treated at the scene for eye irritation and coughing, but were not transported to the hospital.
However, according to DEMA officials, everyone within a half-mile of the plant was told to shelter in place. DEMA officials said the order began around 6 pm, and concluded around 9:40 pm on Wednesday evening.
DEMA officials also told WBOC that, at 6:21 pm on Wednesday evening, an alert was mistakenly sent out statewide about the incident.
"This was the result of human error and DEMA deeply regrets any confusion or misunderstanding this might have caused. In response, DEMA quickly worked with other state and county agencies to remedy the error and put out the correct information," a representative from DEMA said in a statement.
Angelo Whaley lives directly next to the plant. Whaley said the hours of sheltering were nerve-wracking.
"I was nervous," Whaley said. "My wife made it even worse she started calling to shut the windows and lock them. People kept calling our phones."
Whaley said he wishes there had been better communication while the incident was occurring.
"We're right beside the plant, it's our backyard, let us know what happened there," Whaley said. "It's unacceptable. You can't just do your neighbors like this, especially with the daycare center right there."
William Mullen is another neighbor living in the shadow of the Perdue plant.
"It was a little scary when I got the alert on the phone," Mullen said. "We just hunkered down and closed the windows and made sure nothing could get in."
Mullens said there was talk amongst some of his neighbors of an odor in the area Thursday.
"I know a lot of people said they smell vinegar or something like that," Mullen said. "I didn't smell anything."
DNREC officials told WBOC that the incident is still under active investigation and that any future enforcement measures are still being determined.
